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UAE all set for Asia Cup

Dubai, the headquarters of the International Cricket Council, will host 10 of the 13 Asia Cup fixtures, including the opening match, the India-Pakistan header, and the title decider…reports Asian Lite News

After four years and following a pandemic, the Asian Cricket Council’s 2022 edition of the Men’s Asia Cup returns with UAE as the host. It is a six-team tournament that will be held between 27th August and 11th September.

 India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are the confirmed teams, while Hong Kong qualified for the sixth spot after winning all their three matches in the qualifiers, beating UAE, Kuwait and Singapore.

Meanwhile, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the organisation responsible for promoting sports activities across the city, has confirmed that it is ready to safely and securely host the matches of the much-anticipated 15th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament.

The 16-day tournament kicks off this Saturday, when Sri Lanka face Afghanistan in the opening match at the Dubai International Stadium.

Dubai, the headquarters of the International Cricket Council, will host 10 of the 13 Asia Cup fixtures, including the opening match, the India-Pakistan header (28th August), and the title decider on 11th September.

Saeed Mohammed Hareb, Secretary-General of the DSC, said, “Dubai is today one of the world’s most successful cities for hosting mega-events thanks to the vision of its leadership, a clear strategy, robust infrastructure, and event-management capabilities that make participating and attending events in the city a unique experience. Dubai is now a destination of choice for individual athletes and squads. It is an ideal location to host major sports events thanks to its accessibility and amenities required to welcome participants and the audience.”

“The UAE in general and Dubai, in particular, has gained the world’s confidence in its ability to host any event successfully. Dubai has set global benchmarks and is now a role model in hosting and organising major global sports events, such as cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League at Dubai International Stadium,” said Hareb.

Khalid Al Zarooni, Chairman of the Board of Dubai Sports City, said, “We are delighted to host the 2022 Asia Cup, the second largest cricket event in the world. It is watched by millions of fans across Asia and beyond. Dubai International Stadium will host the tournament for the second consecutive time. The last edition was also held in Dubai in 2018. This reflects Dubai’s status as the best city to host such mega-events.”

“This year’s Asia Cup is seen as a precursor to the Twenty20 World Cup for the participating teams, as elite Asian cricket squads converge in Dubai to compete for the coveted trophy, including India, which aims to retain the title,” he added.

Last week, Brigadier Rashid Khalifa Al Falasi, Acting Assistant Commandant for Operations Affairs in Dubai Police, reaffirmed the Dubai Police’s Events Security Committee’s (ESC) full readiness to secure the Asia Cup matches.

He said that Dubai would deploy the latest technologies to secure the venue in collaboration with its key partners and other members of the ESC. Al Falasi also reviewed the ESC’s awareness efforts towards educating the public about the importance of positive engagement and adherence to all safety measures and protocols when attending the matches.

E-Vision acquires MENA rights

 E-Vision, the entertainment streaming division of e& life (part of e&), announced that it has acquired exclusive broadcast and media rights for the upcoming and highly anticipated DP World Asia Cup to be shown only on the CricLife MAX channel in the MENA region.

Cricket fans in the UAE can get all the action exclusively on CricLife MAX channel on eLife TV, Switch TV and in MENA via the new Sports bundle available on the STARZPLAY app.

Olivier Bramly, CEO, E-Vision, said, “We are excited to bring the DP World Asia Cup 2022 to all viewers on CricLife MAX after a four-year, pandemic hiatus. We have always been committed to delivering the best in sports and entertainment from local and international content providers. Avid cricket fans will be able to enjoy the games on our broadcast as well as digital platforms, giving them the flexibility to watch from anywhere and at any time.”

CricLife channels are a one-stop for cricket that are currently available on Asiana and Sports packages on eLife and the OTT packages of Switch TV and STARZPLAY. Subscribers get an opportunity to watch all the best cricket content available from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, in addition to major events like the Asia Cup, ICC Cricket World Cups as well as the popular T20 leagues like Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on CricLife, CricLife2, CricLife3 and CricLife MAX channels.

Etisalat Group has changed its brand identity to e&, effective from 23rd February 2022.

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Sports

India-Pak Asia Cup clash marks return of greatest rivalry

Five of those eight wins have come in India’s last six meetings with Pakistan in the Asia Cup since 2010. The last time India lost to Pakistan was in 2014, in Mirpur, Bangladesh…reports Asian Lite News

After two years of delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a shift in venue due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup is finally going to happen in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.

What makes this year’s tournament, to be held in the T20 format in Dubai and Sharjah, special is that it will also mark the return of the greatest rivalry in men’s cricket — India vs Pakistan. The return of the Asia Cup to the UAE also brings back the tradition of India-Pakistan matches being played in the country through the 1980s and 1990s, mainly in Sharjah.

India, the defending champions and seven-time winners of the trophy, will be looking to retain their throne as the best in Asia. A successful defence of the Asia Cup title ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November, where they will be facing Pakistan too on October 23, will be a huge boost for India, who have embraced an attacking style of play with the bat since their early exit from the tournament last year.

Pakistan, who had a stunning run to the semifinals in the UAE in the T20 World Cup last year, will be looking to be the prime challengers and do an encore of their 10-wicket victory over India during the mega event.

There are high chances that the greatest rivalry featuring India and Pakistan will not only happen once or twice, but potentially thrice in the tournament if both teams make it to the finals. After the group stage match on August 28 at the Dubai International Stadium, India and Pakistan will be well on track to face each other in the Super Four stage and, who knows, there could be a tantalising title clash too.

In Asia Cup, India have faced Pakistan 14 times, winning eight matches while ending up on the losing side on five occasions. Five of those eight wins have come in India’s last six meetings with Pakistan in the Asia Cup since 2010. The last time India lost to Pakistan was in 2014, in Mirpur, Bangladesh.

At a time where there is no bilateral cricket between the two teams, an India-Pakistan clash in box-office events like Asia Cup and World Cups is more like touch and go. Of late, India had been the dominator in the big-ticket clash, until Pakistan changed the script last year in Dubai.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf clicked well in unison to keep India to 151. Captain Babar Azam and his deputy Mohammad Rizwan then finished off the chase with half-centuries, peppered with such precision without being broken by the Indian bowlers for a 01-wicket victory which broke their World Cup hoodoo against them.

Unarguably, an India-Pakistan clash is the biggest eyeballs-grabbing match in the cricketing world, financially as well as social media views-wise. But with the hype and pressure around, it is also a match, which will test the mental toughness and temperament of a player.

Performing big in India-Pakistan matches can hand a cricketer cult status if he leads the side to a victory while for the losing side, massive backlash is in store back home.

Come August 28, an evening blockbuster awaits fans from both India and Pakistan when Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma lead their teams on the field at the Dubai International Stadium to write another chapter of the greatest rivalry in the world of cricket.

Tickets sell out

Cricket fans have gone to extremes to get tickets for the much-awaited India vs Pakistan match to be played in Dubai on August 28.

The first batch of tickets for the clash between the arch-rivals was sold out within three hours on August 15. IANS spoke to some lucky people who got a chance to buy tickets in the first batch.

Indian national and Sharjah resident Saad said that he logged into the ticket portal from multiple computers to get tickets.

“I queued up on the site from 8 a.m. I saw updates about ticket sales and opened the website on four computers at once. I was lucky as I managed to buy tickets within 20 minutes.” He said that he spent around 1000 dirhams to get the ticket. Tickets were available in bundles of three matches.

“I will not be able to go for the other two matches and will give them to friends or family members. This will be the first time that Saad will be watching an India-Pakistan match at the stadium. He is one of those who tried to get tickets for the match between India and Pakistan during the T20 World Cup last year but failed.

Dubai resident Vishal Singh said that he was able to get a premium ticket after four hours in the online queue. He spent more than 1200 dirhams on this ticket. He said that India and Pakistan matches happen only occasionally in Dubai, and “I didn’t want to miss this opportunity”.

The sale of the first batch started on August 15 and there was a long wait to get the tickets. Dubai resident Mustafa was one of the lucky few who got the tickets, but he had to stay logged in for eight hours!

“I had logged on to the portal in the morning on 15th August and was looking to see when it would go live. Finally, when the ticket sales started in the evening, though there were more than 500 ahead of me, I got the ticket. Within one hour only!,” said Mustafa.

Many fans, who were not lucky enough to get India vs Pakistan match tickets, are reserving their seats for the final and Super 4 match. Indian expatriate Amardeep said that “I am sure these archrivals are going to clash in the final, and booked the ticket for the final… I hope to be there.”

A look at the classifieds websites and Facebook reveals that tickets for the prestigious match are being advertised for up to 5,500 dirhams against its actual rate of 2,500. The general admission ticket, which costs 250 dirhams, is listed for resale at 2,500 dirhams.

Asia Cup ticketing partner Platinum List warned that reselling tickets is illegal and will be automatically cancelled. Customers are advised not to purchase secondary ticketing websites or online sales sites as it is possible that the ticket will not be valid for admission or will be cancelled.

The second batch of tickets for the India-Pakistan match of the Asia Cup in Dubai went on sale on Wednesday (August 17), but a new condition has been added to buy tickets. According to the organisers, India-Pakistan tickets will now be available only in packages.

Ticket sales are on a first-come, first-served basis. This means fans have to queue up online and keep logged in for hours. Many fans faced a waiting list of more than five lakh!

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Categories
Sport Sports Sri Lanka

Asia Cup shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE

The six-team Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format this year as a precursor to the T20 World Cup in Australia. The UAE also hosted the previous edition of the tournament, in the ODI format in 2018, an event that was won by India…reports Asian Lite News

The 2022 edition of the Asia Cup was on Wednesday officially shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE. However, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will remain the hosts of the marquee multi-nation tournament, which will be played in middle-east Asia between August 27 and September 11.

The decision to move the tournament out of Sri Lanka was taken due to the ongoing political turmoil in the island nation.

“The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is eagerly looking forward to conducting its much-awaited Asia Cup tournament from August 27 th to September 11 th , 2022, as scheduled,” a Asian Cricket Council statement said.

“However, considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the ACC after extensive deliberation has unanimously concluded that it would be appropriate to relocate the tournament from Sri Lanka to the UAE,” it added.

Sri Lanka is going through one of its worst crisis with supplies of food and fuel drying up. The country has still been able to host bilateral cricket, with Australia and Pakistan making the trip over, but with the Asia Cup being a multi-team tournament, the challenges of hosting it in the midst of economic turmoil were considered a tough task.

BCCi secretary and ACC President Jay Shah said that every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation.

“Every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation. The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights. This edition of the Asia Cup is extremely important as it will help Asian nations prepare for the ICC World Cup, and I thank the SLC and the Emirates Cricket Board for their understanding and cooperation,” said Shah.

The six-team Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format this year as a precursor to the T20 World Cup in Australia. The UAE also hosted the previous edition of the tournament, in the ODI format in 2018, an event that was won by India.

“We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup,” SLC President Shammi Silva said.

“While I fully stand by the ACC’s decision to shift the Asia Cup to UAE considering the current context and magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka cricket will work closely with the ACC and the Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup,” he added.

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Categories
Sport

Asia Cup 2022 likely to be moved from Lanka

The report further said that the ACC is set to announce the 2022 Asia Cup schedule on July 22 and it will likely have India and Pakistan facing each other twice in the league phase…reports Asian Lite News

The hosting of 2022 Asia Cup could be shifted out of Sri Lanka despite the island nation successfully hosting an all-format tour of Australia men’s team, a white-ball tour of India women’s team and is currently hosting a two-match men’s Test series against Pakistan without any major issues.

A report in ESPNCricinfo says that despite the possibility of the tournament being moved to the UAE, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will remain the official host of the 2022 Asia Cup. The report added that a decision was taken at an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting this week, which remains concerned by the acute shortage of fuel which has played a big part in grinding Sri Lanka down to a halt.

Since April this year, Sri Lanka has been in acute economic and social crisis due to daily power cuts, rising fuel prices and massive shortages of basic essentials like food and medicines which prompted resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore via Maldives.

“Hosting two teams is not the same as hosting ten teams. You have to provide ten buses with fuel for all of them. You have to give every team a luggage van with fuel, and transport for the managers. You also have to give the sponsors transport and ensure that they are getting the mileage that they want from their sponsorship. The fuel for the generators to run the floodlights will also have to be found,” SLC chief executive officer Ashley de Silva was quoted as saying in the report.

The report further said that the ACC is set to announce the 2022 Asia Cup schedule on July 22 and it will likely have India and Pakistan facing each other twice in the league phase. De Silva added that with Sri Lanka in a dire state due to fuel shortage and political instability would have stopped many fans from India and Pakistan to fly in to the country.

“There are also two India vs Pakistan matches, and there will be people who want to travel and watch those matches. People might not be happy to travel to Sri Lanka because of the situation.”

The report also said that with the operational costs for the Asia Cup borne by ACC, SLC won’t see any revenue loss, but the local economy in Sri Lanka will lose substantially with hotels and transport operators missing out.

“The ACC had limited options regarding back-up venues considering June through September is monsoon season over most of the Indian subcontinent. In terms of the infrastructure and travel, the UAE has proved to be a successful venue, but late August and early September generally witness extreme temperatures of over 40 degree celcius with humidity also expected to be a factor. Accordingly, the matches could start early evening,” added the report.

The 2022 Asia Cup, in 20-over format, will see India entering the competition as defending champions, having won the competition in the 50-over format in 2018 in the UAE. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will feature in the tournament and will be joined by another Asian side, which could be either of UAE, Kuwait, Singapore or Hong Kong, to be decided after a qualifying tournament, for which the schedule is yet to be known.

The 2022 Asia Cup will be the 15th edition of the tournament, having started from 1984 in Sharjah. India are the most successful team of the tournament, winning it seven times, including the T20I edition in 2016. Sri Lanka have won the competition five times while Pakistan emerged as the winning team twice.

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Sports Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka confident of hosting Asia Cup amid crisis

A final decision on whether Sri Lanka would be retained as the venue for the six-nation Asia Cup will be taken by the Asian Cricket Council on Friday…reports Asian Lite News

A final decision on whether Sri Lanka would be retained as the venue for the six-nation Asia Cup will be taken by the Asian Cricket Council on Friday…reports Asian L

Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Mohan de Silva is hopeful of hosting the Asia Cup, scheduled to start in late August, despite the ongoing political turmoil and unrest in the island nation.

The civil unrest has escalated in Sri Lanka in the last one week as protestors barged into the Presidential building demanding the resignation of both the acting president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. President Rajapaksa has reportedly fled to the Maldives and his luxurious residence has been taken over by the general public.

However, Sri Lanka recently hosted Australia successfully amid the political and economical crisis and as per De Silva, cricket has remained immune from the trouble.

The Australians arrived in June for a tour comprising T20Is, ODIs and two Tests, which finished with Sri Lanka levelling the series 1-all in Galle in surreal circumstances as protestors stormed the nearby Galle fort as cricket was played in the backdrop.

Another reason De Silva remained optimistic about the Asia Cup was the Pakistan contingent arriving recently to play a two-match Test series. The Pakistanis have already played a warm-up match and the PCB has confirmed the visitors had not been affected by the political strife outside.

A final decision on whether Sri Lanka would be retained as the venue for the six-nation Asia Cup will be taken by the Asian Cricket Council on Friday.

“As far as we are concerned, we are still very confident of hosting the tournament in Sri Lanka. We have just hosted the Australian tour with two Tests in Galle, and Pakistan are in the country as well,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday.

When asked if there has been any pressure to move from the ACC, he said: “not really”.

The 2022 edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be a T20I tournament, with the main event running from August 27 to September 11, following a Qualifier that is also scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka, from August 20 to 26.

Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and UAE are set to contest the Qualifier, from which the top team will join the five Full-Member Asian teams — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – in the main draw.

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